Chronic lead exposure packs a toxic punch
Lead is a potent neurotoxin; exposure to lead can lead to reduced IQ and cognitive problems, among other ills. In the 1970s, lead was removed from household paint. And in the 1990s, we phased out leaded gasoline. In recent years it seemed like we had almost won the public health battle against lead exposure. [Read more…] about Chronic lead exposure packs a toxic punch
Drowning in fossil fuels
The need to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels has been driven by at least three distinct considerations: the impact of fossil fuels on the environment, the geopolitics of oil, and the increasing scarcity of fossil fuel resources. [Read more…] about Drowning in fossil fuels
Reconciling the needs of humans and animals
We’ve talked a lot on this program about the importance of biodiversity. Diverse populations of birds, animals, and insects provide important services to people, including pollination, pest control, and nutrient cycling. [Read more…] about Reconciling the needs of humans and animals
The history and future of mass extinctions
Speciation and extinction are ordinary processes in the natural world. In speciation, new species evolve that are adapted to a particular ecological niche. In extinction, species are lost for good, often because changes in the environment deprive them of the food or habitat to which they are adapted. [Read more…] about The history and future of mass extinctions
Will more people really improve the environment?
Recently the Wall Street Journal and USA Today carried articles reporting on the work of Jonathan Last, a journalist who fears that the declining U.S. birth rate will lead to our country’s economic decline. Today, we have 4 workers to support every retired person. By 2030, Last calculates that this will drop to 2.5—an economic burden that will sap the nation of its economic vitality. [Read more…] about Will more people really improve the environment?
Saving energy with a new car
Fuel economy in cars is going up. The 2025 CAFÉ standard for cars is over 54 miles per gallon. Hybrids and plug-in vehicles reduce the amount of energy we use to drive, and we all should want to lower our energy consumption and our carbon footprint. But does buying a high-mileage car really help? [Read more…] about Saving energy with a new car
Frankenbugs?
There are few creatures more deadly than the tiny Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits malaria, dengue fever and other infectious diseases. Malaria is one of the world’s great killers, claiming about 800,000 lives each year. [Read more…] about Frankenbugs?
Food waste: A global problem
Some 30-50% of food produced globally is never eaten. So reports a recent study by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, an independent UK-based engineering society with a focus on energy and environment. [Read more…] about Food waste: A global problem
Pharmaceutical pollution leads to fearless fish
Researchers in Sweden have found that when wild perch are exposed to Oxazepam, a common anti-anxiety medication, they undergo surprising changes in their behavior and feeding rate. [Read more…] about Pharmaceutical pollution leads to fearless fish
How many dollars does it take to change a light bulb?
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There have been heated debates about light bulbs ever since Congress passed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. This law imposed efficiency standards that spelled the end of the incandescent bulb. Since its passage, the law’s requirements have been under attack from many quarters. [Read more…] about How many dollars does it take to change a light bulb?
Solar panel payback
Solar panels are becoming a common sight on rooftops. A combination of dropping prices, new incentives, and the growing availability of solar leases is making solar power more and more popular. People are reducing or even entirely eliminating their electric bills with these systems. [Read more…] about Solar panel payback
How green is a green car?
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A primary reason to drive an electric car is to save energy and, in particular, reduce the amount of carbon going into the atmosphere. It is a fact that driving a mile using electricity uses less energy than driving a mile using gasoline. It is also true that running an electric engine doesn’t produce carbon emissions. [Read more…] about How green is a green car?
Acid rain: Progress but not triumph
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Though not in the news as much as it once was, acid rain remains a problem. Most of our energy needs are derived from burning fossil fuels, such as coal and gasoline. Power plants, factories, and vehicles give off sulfur and nitrogen oxide emissions, which react in the atmosphere to form sulfuric and nitric acids. These acids are then deposited back onto the landscape in rain, snow, fog, or particles. [Read more…] about Acid rain: Progress but not triumph
Keeping U.S. mercury off the global market
The Mercury Export Ban of 2008 went into effect last month. The bill, proposed by then-Senator Barack Obama, was signed into law by President George W. Bush on the eve of the 2008 elections. [Read more…] about Keeping U.S. mercury off the global market
Just how much gas is leaking?
As we tackle the emotional issue of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, as a means of producing natural gas, we need better data to assess one of the procedure’s big unknowns. Just how much gas leaks into the atmosphere? [Read more…] about Just how much gas is leaking?
Meet the new threat in cans
A past Earth Wise segment explored the health risks associated with bisphenol A, or BPA, a chemical used in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. Exposure has been linked variety of health concerns, among them obesity, reproductive cancers, asthma, and diabetes. [Read more…] about Meet the new threat in cans
An Oregon Mountain high
More than 50 years ago, an ecologist, Robert Whittaker, studied the distribution and abundance of plants at high elevations in the Siskiyou Mountains of Oregon. Like many early ecologists, he was interested in what grew where, and what controlled the distribution of plants. Mountains were a convenient natural laboratory because many different natural habitats occurred in close proximity. Whittaker’s field notes were left in an archive at Cornell University, when he died in 1980. [Read more…] about An Oregon Mountain high
Keeping fresh water flowing to NYC
Though it’s surrounded by the Hudson, New York City doesn’t rely on the river for its freshwater supply. Rather, decades ago, an aqueduct system was built to bring water to Manhattan from upstate—largely drawing on reservoirs in the Catskill region. This is one reason why we see so much concern about natural gas extraction by fracking in the watersheds that feed Catskill reservoirs. [Read more…] about Keeping fresh water flowing to NYC
Meat demand and the environment
